Army Public School (APS) Peshawar attack survivor Ahmad Nawaz was given the Point of Light award by the Prime Minister’s Office in the United Kingdom (UK) for rendering his services as an anti-radicalisation youth activist.
According to a statement issued by 10 Downing Street, 18-year-old Ahmad Nawaz “travels around the West Midlands giving anti-radicalisation talks to other pupils.”
By the grace of God, I’m proud to be the first pakistani youngster to receive @PointsofLight Award from @10DowningStreet! It’s an honour to be recognised by the Prime Minister @theresa_may for the work I’ve done for Youth Awareness, Peace & against radicalisation. pic.twitter.com/SI1YBENpUr
— Ahmad Nawaz (@Ahmadnawazaps) January 12, 2019
“Ahmad has addressed thousands of students in schools across the UK, as well as speaking at events organised by the United Nations. Though he has received death threats from the Taliban, this has not deterred him. He juggles his academic studies with touring schools giving talks, to spread this essential message.”
He began working with the UK government for encouraging communities to unite and fight extremism together, and has recently been appointed a member of National Counter Extremism Advisory board. “Ahmad is also a winner of the No2H8 Crime Young Upstander Award for his courage and conviction,” it adds.
In a personal letter to Ahmad, UK PM Theresa May said: “The work that you do to educate young people about extremism and radicalisation is invaluable – and the fact that it comes from your own experience is testament to your incredible personal strength and resolve. Your recent appointment to the National Counter Extremism Advisory board demonstrates the positive impact of your work. You should feel tremendously proud and I wish you the very best with your continued endeavours.”
Ahmad replied, “I am deeply honoured to be recognised as a ‘Point of Light’ by the Prime Minister. It has propelled me to do more of the positive work that I do for the society. I would like to encourage other young people to do the same in order to have a society free of extremism and violence.”
In August 2018, Ahmed received six A stars and two A’s in his GSCE exams. He shared on his Twitter account, “My International GCSE exam result just came out and I am very proud to announce that I got “ 6A*s & 2As “ in eight exams.”
“Thanks to my parents and all of you for supporting me,” he added. “This is a big success for me and takes me many steps closer to my admission to Oxford University.”
